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7/21/2010 | The Limbs of Lumenhaus – Thomson and Kollmorgen Motion System Brings Virginia Tech’s Award Winning and Energy-Optimizing “Smart House” to Life

WOOD DALE, IL – Lumenhaus - Virginia Tech University’s entry to the 2009 US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon and recent first place winner of the 2010 Solar Decathlon Europe –
is an 800 square foot energy-optimized “smart” home that leverages an
active system of motion controls from Thomson and Kollmorgen to minimize
the overall HVAC load on the house.

Working with Thomson and Kollmorgen, the Lumenhaus
engineering team was able to implement the technology that met their
exact performance needs without having to compromise on any of their
design objectives to accommodate the available motion technology. “We
needed components that could handle often harsh and changing
environmental elements, readily accept a 3rd party control signal and
that were flexible and easy to interface. We’ve been pushing the motion
control system very hard, and the Thomson and Kollmorgen motion control
solutions have absolutely come through for us,” says Robert Dunay,
Director, Center for Research, Virginia Tech.

The thought behind the Lumenhaus design was
to build a sustainable smart house with the ability to maintain optimal
energy performance at all times. “When the weather is good the house
automatically opens up and doesn’t use energy. Conversely, when the
weather turns bad a system is in place that enables the house to protect
itself,” says Professor Joseph Wheeler, Project Coordinator, Virginia
Tech.

Lumenhaus epitomizes a “whole building design” construction approach,
in which all the home’s components and systems have been designed and
built to work together to maximize user comfort with environmental
protection. At its heart is an integrated environmental control system.

“The house has its own weather station with a
‘passive/active’ environmental control system to minimize energy
consumption and maximize efficiency. In short, the weather station
communicates with the control system, which in turns tells the Thomson
and Kollmorgen motion system whether to open or close the house. When
the house needs insulation, insulation screens close; when the house
needs shading, shading screens close; and when the house needs security,
the shade screens close without blocking natural ventilation,” explains
Wheeler.

Making it WorkLumenhaus’ layered systems consist of a series of
motorized shade screens and insulation panels that adjust to the
changing weather patterns. The screens and panels can weigh up to 1000
lbs. each, and coupled with potentially highly dynamic loads from
exposure to changing environmental elements, the tools that move them
need to be extremely robust.

The shade screen assemblies ride on Thomson 60 Case® low profile round rail assemblies with Super Smart Ball Bushing® bearings and are run by Thomson RapidTrak belt-driven Linear Motion Systems powered by Kollmorgen AKM™ Servomotors.
The insulation panels and shade screens serve as the “clam shell” that
protect the house against the elements, and which are hung and moved by
RapidTrak systems with Kollmorgen AKM servo motors. The house also usesThomson PPA PowerPac Actuators as
part of a photovoltaic array that tracks and generates power from the
sun, and that automatically adjusts to accommodate for changes to the
angle of the sun on a seasonal basis.

“Variable feedback provides a certain level of speed and
power control, and in dabbling with the overall energy control we’ve
been able to move the panels at up to 300 in. per minute, if needed,
using just 1.5 amps of power. Using such a small amount of energy to
operate these panels can have a big impact, as it means we don’t have to
turn on HVAC systems,” says David Clark, Student Team Leader, Virginia
Tech. “Of course power needs vary depending on weather conditions and
the changing dynamic loads from high winds and changes in wind
direction, so sometimes we need to tweak the power to optimize
performance; the bottom line is that we’re able to do so in such a way
as to control consumption and maximize efficiency.”

Lumenhaus constantly monitors weather patterns and
automatically adjusts the shade screens and insulation panels as needed,
so Virginia Tech engineering students used a 1-10 Micron® NemaTRUE Planetary® Gearhead from
Thomson inserted between the Kollmorgen AKM Servomotor and track drive
to increase torque potential, and to help slow motor down so panels
don’t move too fast. “Generally speaking we don’t need 10,000 different
stops, we just need to reliably get to the right position,” says Clark.

Manual Override - There’s an App for ThatAs with all things automated, there are times that
demand a manual override. Lumenhaus utilizes an iPhone and iPad as the
interface element, along with Kollmorgen S200 Servo Drives
with digital and analog inputs, to help manually override the building
control system. “The building control system takes the information it
receives from the iPhone or iPad, interprets it from 1-10, then sends a
low voltage signal out to each servo drive (0-10 v). When the drive
receives the information it interprets it into an exact position count,
and then sends the screens and insulation panels to the correct
position,” explains Clark.

The iPhone and iPad automatically orient the floor plan of
Lumenhaus, and with swipe of a finger on the iPhone or iPad not only can
users override the control system to reorient the screens and panels,
but they can also be used to remotely control any number of aspects of
the house, including locking or unlocking doors. For example, the front
door of Lumenhaus features an RFID tag that enables remote control to
open or lock remotely with the touch of a button – so if one needs to
give a neighbor access to the house to let the dogs out they can do so
from any remote location with cellular phone service.

Potential Application, Today“What’s really interesting about some of the concepts
brought to life in Lumenhaus is that it gives us a picture of how, on a
smaller scale, existing residential and commercial buildings could be
made more energy efficient by retrofitting them with smarter louver-type
systems that not only shade but also insulate. For example, the
ability to have a control system that automatically responds to and even
harnesses what the weather gives through means such as blinds, shades
and shutters that know where the sun is and can adjust accordingly is
potentially pretty significant when it comes to minimizing HVAC use and
power consumption,” says Dunay.

About KollmorgenKollmorgen is a leading provider of integrated
automation and motion control systems and components for machine
builders around the globe, with over 60 years of motion control design
and application expertise.

For more information visit www.kollmorgen.com, email contactus@kollmorgen.com or call 1-540-633-3545.

About ThomsonWith more than 60 years of motion control innovation
and quality, Thomson is the industry’s premier producer of Linear Ball
Bushing® Bearings and Profile Rail Bearings, 60 Case™ Shafting, ground
and rolled Ball Screws, Linear Actuators, Gearheads, Clutches, Brakes,
Linear Systems, and related accessories. Thomson invented the Linear
Ball Bushing Bearing in 1945, and has set the standard ever since with
an unsurpassed set of mechanical motion control solutions serving global
commercial and aerospace & defense markets. Thomson Industries,
Inc. has facilities in North America, Europe and Asia with over 2000
distributor locations around the world.